Daybreak
by whitereaper23
Summary: When a strange object is found and activated by the Leaf, people lose the ability to wield chakra. When it's learnt that Naruto was indirectly responsible, he's immediately blamed and forced to go on the run. What happened to the world's chakra supply? Why can Naruto still use his? What will happen to the ninja world now? Read to find out! AU! Smart!Naruto Before SasukeRetrevalArc
1. Chapter 1

Sunlight filtered through the windows of the residents homes in Konoha. Everyone was still asleep, not surprising as it was still early in the morning. The only sounds heard in the neighbourhoods were those of cats and dogs still prowling the area for some sort of early morning meal, and the quiet hum of the early birds in the trees, preoccupied with feeding their young. Everything was tranquil, peaceful, quiet.

 _BOOM!_

Or at least it would be, had it not been for one hyperactive, knuckle-headed blonde ninja who spent the entire night training well into dawn.

"It's finally ready." Naruto said to himself as he glanced at the damage he just caused to the training ground. A rut was dug in a straight line in the ground before him, and the trees in the surrounding area all had their bark splintered in the center, almost as if they were hit with one of the 4th Hokage's infamous Rasengan, except the damage was on a much smaller scale.

Naruto grinned, "Finally, I'm ready to beat down Sasuke. That bastard won't know what just hit him." He dusted off his bright, neon orange jacket, which still seemed bright at the break of dawn, and headed to his home for a quick breakfast.

As he left, Naruto couldn't help but wonder if things were finally going to look up for him. _'Maybe Sakura will actually agree to go on that date with me!_ He mused. _'Once she sees me beat Sasuke there's no way she'll still like him right?'_ Images of himself kissing Sakura flooded his mind and he couldn't stop the red tint that spread onto his whiskered cheeks. He giggled lightly. "Man, everything's gonna change today! I can feel it!"

Little did Naruto realise just how right he actually was.

When Naruto got home he fixed himself a nice bowl of instant ramen, got some milk (not expired this time) from his fridge, and sat down at the kitchen table to eat. _'I wonder what I should do as a victory pose when I beat Sasuke?'_ A picture of himself standing with one foot on Sasuke's back, while he was flashing the peace sign at Sakura who had hearts in her eyes while his sensei, Kakashi nodded his head in approval flashed into his mind. Naruto grinned at the thought of that happening and he ate his food with more gusto. After 6 bowls of ramen and 2 boxes of milk, Naruto grabbed his blue, Konoha shinobi headband, tied it around his forehead, slipped on his shinobi sandals and headed out to training ground 7 to meet with his teammates.

As expected, Naruto was always the last one to arrive (before Kakashi-sensei) at their designated meeting spot. "Yo Sakura!" He greeted the pink-haired, petite girl sitting at the base of one of the 3 training posts. Sakura's eye twitched. _'Why does he have to be so loud!'_ She forced a smile on her face. "Hi Naruto. How was your morning?" She inquired. Though one could clearly see the annoyance on her face from just talking to the blonde.

Naruto, however, was completely unobservant. "It was actually pretty good thanks for asking." He grinned at her. "I think you'll be surprised at what I can do now."

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, I'm not interested in how many bowls of ramen you can stomach without throwing up."

Naruto's cheeks flushed. "It's not like that!"

"Or how you think you know what's underneath Kakashi-sensei's mask."

"It's not that either!"

"Then what is it Naruto?"

"I created a jutsu this morning!" He exclaimed excitedly.

That threw Sakura for a loop. "A jutsu?" She asked, as though she had misheard him. "How did YOU of all people create a jutsu?" After all, Naruto was the dead-last, almost drop-out, failure of their year at the Academy. There's no way he could've created a jutsu right?

Naruto looked offended. "Oi! I may be called an idiot, but that doesn't mean that I'm stupid."

Sakura gave him a deadpan stare. "Did you really just say that."

"Yeah, why?"

"Naruto, you are a complete idiot."

"HEY!"

"Can you people keep it down over there, you're being too loud." A third voice spoke.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up. In one of the high branches of a nearby tree, sat Naruto's rival and teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, completely clad in his black jumpsuit that he wore during the chuunin exams. Naruto felt anger rise up in his chest. Everything that Sasuke did seemed to show him up in some way and embarrass him in front of Sakura. But that would end today.

"Oi Sasuke, fight me!" Naruto demanded.

"And why would I waste my time on you?" Sasuke asked in a monotone voice.

Naruto growled. "You think your so tough huh?"

"I know I'm tougher than you, that's a fact."

"Oh yeah? Than why don't you prove it?"

"Because," Sasuke began, "Doing that would make you incapable of thinking with that peanut of yours, and you can't afford to lose what little brain cells you have."

Sakura tried to muffle a laugh, but ultimately couldn't help the giggles that escaped her lips. Naruto growled. "You won't be taking so tough when I beat you today!" He exclaimed.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Sasuke asked boredly.

It was Sakura who answered, "Maybe he plans on hitting you with his new perverted jutsu."

"It's not perverted!" Naruto defended his creation.

"A new jutsu?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "As if you could create a new technique."

Naruto shook his fists wildly. "What would you know about creating a jutsu anyway? All the Uchiha ever did was steal everyone else's hard work. It's no wonder they got wiped out!"

Sakura gasped. Sasuke was still. Naruto realized that he made a big mistake mentioning the Uchiha massacre, but he wasn't going to apologise for something that wasn't his fault.

Sakura looked worriedly at her two teammates. _'Where is Kakashi-sensei? I need his help now!'_ If these two started fighting right here and now, there was nothing that she could do to stop them. She could only hope that they'll ignore each other for the rest of the morning.

Sadly for Sakura, her hopes were dashed away as soon as Sasuke leapt off of the tree and charged Naruto.

Naruto was somehow prepared for it and blocked Sasuke's punch with his forearm, before throwing a punch of his own. Sasuke caught it effortlessly, and drove his left knee into Naruto's gut, making him gasp for air before following up his attack with a right roundhouse kick that sent Naruto staggering back a few steps.

Sasuke took his usual fighting stance. "Come Naruto, I'll show why it was stupid to mock the Uchiha."

Naruto righted himself , narrowed his eyes in concentration, and took his own fighting stance. "Let's go Sasuke!"

And as they charged at each other, Sakura could only stand back and watch while wondering, _'Where the hell is Kakashi-sensei?!'_

"I take it you understand why this object must be investigated?"

Said one-eyed jonin was currently in a meeting with the 5th Hokage, Tsunade Senju. A busty blonde who loves gambling as much as she love sake. "Yeah I get it." Kakashi responded. "This is some strange sphere that is said to somehow bring about the Apocalypse?"

On the desk standing on a little podium was a strange object. A small tennis-ball sized ocean-blue sphere, with strange electronic-blue markings drawn along the entire thing.

Tsunade nodded. "It's still not clear exactly what this sphere is capable of, but from the intel we gathered in the interrorgation, this device needs a pretty potent power source for it to kick-start."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "But it's not like we have any such sources of power, now do we?"

Tsunade bit her lip for a moment, "How sure are you about that Kakashi, it's still unclear as to what will set this device off. It seems very ancient in design, but the technology on it is astounding."

Kakashi glanced down at the sphere before looking his leader in the eye. "So, what exactly do you want me to do with it?"

Tsunade tapped her pencil. "It's simple really, I just want you to hold onto it until that fool, Jiraiya, comes back so he can take a look at it."

"Is that it?"

"A bit too much for you hm?" Tsunade asked mockingly.

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "No. Not gonna be a problem at all."

Tsunade smirked. "Good. Now you better get going, I think you left your brats waiting a bit too long."

Kakashi gave her his famous one-eyed smile, the one that miraculously curves, before he picked up the sphere and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Training ground 7 looked like hell. Several trees had kunai, shuriken and scorch marks all over them, and the ground in the area had skid marks all over the place.

Sakura was found hiding in the base of a tree that was slightly burnt, curled up in a foetal position with tears streaming down her cheeks. She knew from the moment Sasuke activated his sharingan that this fight was serious. The tree she chose was a good one. It withstood all the damage so far, and she still had a clear view of Naruto and Sasuke trying to destroy each other. _'Where's Kakashi-sensei? He must've felt all this chakra by now.'_ Both of the boys were putting out a lot of chakra, so much so that they both had a slight blue tint surrounding them. They kept going at it, exchanging punch after punch, kick after kick, and still they showed no signs of fatigue.

Naruto was getting frustrated. Most of the attacks he threw so far Sasuke always blocked with his damned sharingan. All of his usual combos didn't even land a hit, every clone he summoned was quickly dispelled, every kunai he threw was intercepted, and it was driving him crazy. _'Looks like I'll have to do THAT then.'_ He grinned and wiped some sweat off his chin and dropped his fighting stance.

' _What're you up to hm, Naruto?'_ were Sasuke's thoughts when he saw the blonde drop his stance. He shifted slightly and locked his two tomoe sharingan eyes on his rival, trying to anticipate his moves. He was very surprised, however, to find an orange leg connect to the side of his face. The impact caused Sasuke to fall face first into the ground. He shakily got to one knee, before a fist met his right cheek, causing him to fly back into a tree with a thump. _'Wha-what just happened?'_ Sasuke wondered when he stood shakily again. A few meters away he saw Naruto, standing with his left fist extended, and a blank expression on his face, but what really got Sasuke was the fact that Naruto's eyes were blood red, with slits for pupils. _'Is this really Naruto, how did he-'_ and Sasuke saw an image of Naruto's fist a few inches from his face before his instinct told him to duck, and he narrowly avoided the right hook that went flying over his head. Sasuke retaliated with a right roundhouse that Naruto stopped by pushing his leg down with his left hand. This unfortunately left Naruto wide open for the right hook that shattered his nose and sent him flying back. He placed his palm on the ground and back-flipped into an upright position. He saw Sasuke blazing through hand-signs and widended his eyes. "NO SASUKE DON'T!" He heard Sakura scream, before a massive fireball was sent barreling his way. Naruto narrowly avoided being hit by combat rolling to the left before saw a dozen smaller fireballs heading his way. _'Crap! No time to dodge!'_ were his thoughts before the fireballs collided.

Sasuke panted, glaring at the fire he just created. The dead-last, of all people, took so much out of him. How was he supposed to beat Itachi if he couldn't beat Naruto? He grit his teeth before he tasted something that surprised him. Blood. His blood. He wiped his mouth and sure enough, there was blood on the back of his hand. Sasuke bristled with anger. Naruto drew blood from an Uchiha, he must pay, but then Sasuke calmed, remembering that Naruto was being roasted in the fire right now. He glanced at it, only to do a double-take. Naruto Uzumaki was alive and well in the center of the flames, holding some strange blue sphere in his hand. His jacket was completely destroyed, only being kept up by the fabric on his left shoulder now, with the sleeves being completely burned off, his black T-shirt completely fine, and his left pant leg only went down to his knee. The clone at his side, which Sasuke just noticed was fueling the sphere in his hand. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS, NARUTO!" Sasuke screamed, before forming a set of hand-signs and encasing his left hand in blue lightning. "THEN BRING IT SASUKE!" Naruto screamed. The clone popped, and Naruto and Sasuke charged at each other, full force.

When Kakashi appeared at training ground 7, he expected to his genin squad interacting with each other as they usually do.

He did not expect to find the place completely ruined. There was way too much damage for this to be caused by a genin sparring match. Trees were burnt, two of the three logs were completely destroyed, and there were several trees that had their bark splintered.

He did not expect to find Sakura curled up in the base of a tree, crying her eyes out. Her usually clean clothes were smudged with dirt, and her eyes were red and puffy.

But what he really didn't expect, was to see Naruto and Sasuke about to throw 2 A-rank ninjutsu at each other. His eye widended, for a brief moment he was proud and surprised to see that Naruto was able to perform the 4th Hokage's Legendary Rasengan, but he knew if that had to collide with the Chidori…

Kakashi sprinted as fast as he could, trying to intercept the two boys before it got too late. He just barely managed to make it, but in his haste he forgot to place the sphere in his pouch and forgot about it in his hand, and when that made contact with Naruto's Rasengan…

The sphere changed to red, the markings on it suddenly fading to black, Kakashi realized his fatal mistake…

And training ground 7 exploded in a bright red light.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
**

Ino Yamanaka was not having a good day. Her morning started of simple; she had a nice dream of what it would be like if Sasuke decided to ask her out, he grabbed her and pulled her close. "I want you." He murmured silkily, but before he could kiss her, the sound of her mom banging on her door rose her from her dream. Needless to say, this left the petite blond in a foul mood for the rest of the morning.

"Get up sweetheart, your dad already left for work and think it's time you go too." Her mom declared. She angrily got up, stormed to the bathroom and got a quick shower, before putting on her usual purple outfit and went down to the kitchen for a quick breakfast.

"Good morning sweetie." Her mom greeted cheerfully.

"Hey mom." She replied sulkily.

"What's wrong?" Her mom inquired.

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah Mom I'm fine."

"Honey are you-"

"Yeah Mom I'm fine!" She threw her arms up exasperatedly. "Wow Mom you know I'd tell you if it was something serious."

"Oh. Alright then." Then her mom returned to the stove to cook breakfast.

Ino felt guilt well up in her stomach. "Sorry Mom, it's just that you-" She stopped suddenly.

"What is it dear?" Her mom inquired.

Ino felt a blush rise in her cheeks. "You woke me up from a very nice dream." She mumbled, barely loud enough for her mom to hear.

Her mom looked confused for a second. "A nice dream?" Then a look of realization crossed her face. "Oh. I see." Then she smirked knowingly. "So who's the sweet boy?"

"MOM!" Ino's blush deepened. She nibbled on some toast. "He's not that important." _'To you at least.'_ She added mentally.

"Well! I never thought I'd she the day when my little girl finally got married."

Ino dropped her toast in shock.

"I better get started." Her mom continued. "We have call the caterer, send the invites, I assume Sakura will be going right?" She looked at her daughter who was frozen in shock. She shrugged and continued. "There's still the matter of the seating plan, not to mention asking the Hokage if she'll administer the ceremony. OH! We still need to get your dress! I better call-"

Ino found her voice at last. "MOM! I'm not getting married!" She yelled, but her mom continued on rambling. Ino sighed and shook her head, finished her piece of toast and walked out the door.

As soon as she stepped out however, she was hit with a few dozen balls. She shrieked in surprise, and fell directly onto the steps outside the flower shop. She heard laughter and looked up. Konahamaru and his friends, Udon and Moegi, stood across the street, laughing at the mess they just caused. She was covered head to toe in bright neon colored paint. "DAMN IT KIDS! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" She shouted.

Konohamaru and his friends all felt fear, and bolted out of the area, with Ino in pursuit.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING HUH?" Ino yelled as they all rounded a corner, with Ino hot on their trail.

"SHE'S CRAZY BOSS!" Udon yelled.

"I KNOW!" Konohamaru replied.

"WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"I THOUGHT YOU PLANNED FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS!"

"I DIDN'T THINK SHE'D FOLLOW US THIS FAR!"

"GUYS!" Moegi yelled. "SHE'S STILL BEHIND US!"

"WHAT!" Both boys yelled. It was true. So far they must've cut through many houses, and rounded many corners, but Ino was still hot on their trail. And she was closing in.

"WE'RE TOAST!" Udon screamed when Ino was literally two steps behind them.

"GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD!" Konohamaru screamed when Ino grabbed the back of his scarf and pulled him in.

Ino was trembling with fury. "You're toast kid." She whispered demonically. Konohamaru whimpered. Udon and Moegi were shaking with fear.

But before Ino could drive her fist into Konohamaru's face, a massive explosion rocked the village. The ground trembled, windows shattered, and people were falling down in the street.

The sudden shake caused Ino to trip, unintentionally letting go of Konohamaru's scarf, dropping him to the ground.

Ino shakily got up and used a nearby wall for support. _'What the heck's happening here?!'_ She felt the wall tremble beside her as if it was going to collapse. She looked up to see if the kids were alright. She wanted to pummel them sure, but she didn't want them to die. She saw the three of them huddled close together, all shaking with fear like the villagers around them.

The wall beside her shifted, and on instinct, she rolled to narrowly avoid it from coming down on her. The kids were right in front of her now, she could see Konohamaru's scarf inches away from her face. She looked up trying to get a better view of them, when she was met with a surprising sight.

A huge pillar of bright red light shot up through the sky. She could feel a massive force gathering in that area, almost as if something is being sucked into the beam itself. Just looking at the pillar made her feel exhausted. _'No! I can't sleep now! The villagers are in danger!'_ She grabbed the three kids and hugged them as close as she could. _'Things can't possibly get any worse!_ ' She thought. Suddenly, the trembling stopped. The houses stood still. The pillar of light however, was still shooting up into the sky.

"You kids okay?" Ino asked the kids she was still cling onto.

The kids groaned. Ino couldn't blame them. She too, felt exhausted by what had just transpired. Around them villagers were rising to their feet, curiously whispering to each other. Ino, born with her mother's affinity for gossip, couldn't help but listen in.

"What is that?"

"Is it a new jutsu of some sort?"

"What are these shinobi up to?"

"Their messing up my business again."

Ino was curious herself. Was that a new jutsu? If it was who could possibly be that strong? She felt a tug on her hand. Looking down on, she saw Moegi pulling her. "What is that beam Ino?" She inquired.

"I don't know kid, I don't know." Ino answered honestly.

Udon was still trying to revive Konohamaru, when he asked, "Where's it coming from?"

Ino looked at the pillar again. The only places in that pillars direction was the market, and the training grounds. The now-revived Konohamaru gasped.

"What is it Kono?" Moegi asked.

"The pillar, it's coming from-"

A massive gust of wind blew towards the pillar, Ino struggled to hold her footing. She saw the pillar shake slightly, before it sucked in on itself. The wind stopped. Everything was still for a moment. Ino opened her mouth to ask if everyone was alright when

 _BOOM!_

The pillar rose again before exploding outward. Ino watched as it expanded all over the village, and possibly over the surrounding forest as well.

' _What kind of jutsu is this?'_ Ino wondered, when she felt it pass her. It left her feeling cold, so cold that might as well have been standing in the Land of Snow and still felt warmer. She shivered horribly, cursing her attire for being so small and revealing. She rubbed her arms and closed her eyes wondering when the cold would stop.

Minutes later, she felt the air get warmer, and opened her eyes to look.

The pillar of red light was fading away now, she could see the last flecks of its origin slowly fading away to nothing.

"What are you up to Naruto?" She heard Konohamaru whisper beside her. _'Naruto! What does he have to do with this?'_ She wondered.

Udon, who also heard the whisper asked, "What does Naruto-sensei have to do with this?"

Ino's eye twitched. _'Naruto-sensei huh? So that idiot put them up to this!'_

Konohamaru replied, "Big bro told me he was working on a new jutsu yesterday." Konohamaru looked at the fading pillar, "This must've had something to do with it."

"Naruto-sensei made that!" Moegi exclaimed with wonder.

Ino, however, had a look of complete disbelief. "Naruto created that pillar!" She asked a little too loudly. The villagers snarled.

"Of course this would be it's fault."

"Nasty monster."

"It should just disappear already."

Ino looked at the villagers with disbelief, followed with anger. What was these people's problem with Naruto? Sure he pranked a lot when he was younger, but that's no reason for him to die!

She was about to ask who said that about her friend (No matter how annoying he was, he was actually her friend) when she felt another tug on her clothes.

Konohamaru shook his head at her sadly, "Let it go Ino." She opened her mouth to protest when Moegi answered, "Naruto-sensei doesn't want us to do anything about it. He said its better this way."

"But why! Why do they treat him like this?" Ino asked.

"Dunno, but we better get to training ground 7." Konohamaru answered.

"Training ground 7?"

"That's where he normally trains."

"Then why are we still here? Let's go!" Ino said. As they took off, Ino couldn't help but notice she was moving much slower than normal.

' _It must be from Naruto's pillar. Yeah that's it.'_ But she couldn't help the feeling of unease that was rising in her chest, as if there was something more to this than that.

Naruto felt strangely light. Not that he was ever fat, he just felt like he was weightless. As if gravity didn't affect him at all. It made him feel stronger. Faster. Tougher.

But he was doing something before this. _'What was I doing again?'_ He racked his brain trying to remember. It had something to do with Team 7, he knew that much. Maybe it was them complaining about Kakashi-sensei being late again? Or was it him asking Sakura on a date? No, probably not. She'd just reject him in favor of that bastard, Sasuke, again.

Sasuke…

His brain clicked. That's right, he was fighting Sasuke again, and this time, to a standstill. Naruto felt proud. He was about to finish the fight with his Rasengan, but Kakashi-sensei stopped it with some strange blue ball.

' _What was that ball?'_ He wondered trying to get up, but his body refused to move. _'Oh well. I must really be tired then.'_ He mused. Only then did Naruto actually notice how everything was totally black. He realized that he must be in one of those coma's that Iruka-sensei was always talking about.

' _Well this sucks. I must've lost to Sasuke then.'_ Naruto felt cheated. If Kakashi-sensei didn't interfere, Sasuke would be the one in the coma, and he would be on a date with Sakura right now. He felt depressed, thinking of all the things he and Sakura could be doing right now. Then he heard it. A faint whisper.

' _G..p..Na..o.'_

' _What the hell?_ He thought confused.

' _Plea..k..up Naruto.'_

Someone was calling him, but who?

' _Never..ive..Naruto, that..nin…ght?_

He could hear her more clearly, at least, he assumed it was a she. He strained his ears to hear more.

' _Come on, you…this Naruto!'_

He definitely knew that was a girl this time, she also sounded familiar.

' _You gotta get up Naruto please, who else is gonna teach Sasuke a lesson?'_

"Sasuke.." He groaned softly.

' _That's it Naruto! Come on! Wake up and beat Sasuke! Once and for all!'_

"SASUKE!" Naruto opened his eyes to the brightness of the sun. On instinct he closed them again. Once he was sure that he was ready he opened the again.

Pain flooded Naruto's entire body. He couldn't help the groan that escaped his lips. "Are you okay?" He heard someone ask worriedly. When he looked at the person he couldn't help but reel back in shock.

He was staring at some rainbow colored monster, that seemed to be the same height as him, and whose face (At least he assumed it had a face) was filled with a sorts of colors of the rainbow. It also looked wet. "What the heck are you?!" He yelled.

The monster's face twitched. "Is that how you're supposed to greet a friend?" It's voice was feminine, reminding Naruto of the person who woke him from his supposed coma. "It was you." He groaned weakly. "You're the one that woke me up."

"Yeah, I guess I did." It, or rather she, mused. "Don't you recognize me Naruto?" She asked meekly.

"Should I? Man, you must be the weirdest monster I ever met."

"Idiot! I'm not a monster!"

"You look like a monster to me."

"Get dozens of paint thrown on you and we'll see what you look like afterwards."

"Still won't be a monster."

"Ugh!" The monster growled. Clenching it's fists together by it's side.

"Naruto, I think you've said enough." A new voice interjected. Naruto looked to his left to see Kakashi-sensei tending to what was probably Sasuke, if the duck-butt, black hair was anything to go by, on the black grass.

Wait, black grass…

Naruto tried to lift himself up, but his body started to groan in pain, refusing to let him rise. He gasped, and fell back down.

"Hey, take it easy." Kakashi-sensei said. "Ino, would you be nice enough to help him get up?"

' _Ino? Where's Ino?'_ Naruto wondered. The monster sighed. "Sure Kakashi-sensei." It said.

Naruto's brain clicked. Ino. Monster. Paint bombs. He started giggling lightly.

"What's so funny?" The newly-dubbed Ino said.

Naruto stopped for a moment to reply. "Paint bombs." Before he started laughing again.

Ino was sure her face flushed. Thank Kami for the paint masking it. "Shut up." She said.

Naruto laughed for a few minutes, before he calmed enough to speak. "Ok, help me up now."

Ino reluctantly helped him to his feet, before she felt him stiffen completely. His face was twisted in agony, as if something was torturing him. "Naruto, are you okay?" She asked worriedly. He took a few moments to reply, but Ino could see that his face was much calmer now. "Yeah, I'm good." He said, then he gasped in shock. "What the hell happened here?" He asked, shock written all over his face.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Ino said.

Training ground 7 was a complete wreck. The area that they were all in was nothing but burnt grass. Several trees were uprooted and a few paces away, was a massive crater that was slowly filling with water each second. Naruto couldn't believe the damage he and Sasuke had caused.

Speaking of said bastard, "Oi, Kakashi-sensei. Is Sasuke alright?" He asked. It wouldn't be good for his own safety after all if something happened to the village's precious 'Last Uchiha'. "I'm fine." Sasuke replied. Kakashi-sensei was helping him stand up. Naruto felt angry. Here was Sasuke Uchiha, standing on his own two feet, while he, Naruto Uzumaki, had to lean on Ino just to stand upright. Although looking a Sasuke now, T-shirt full of rips and tears in the fabric, one of the sleeves apparently burned off, his face full of scrapes, Naruto couldn't help but feel pride at the damage he caused the Uchiha.

Seeing Naruto's smirk drove Sasuke over the edge. The blonde had pushed him to his limits, and no matter what he tried, Naruto just kept getting back up. Sure the blonde's clothes were almost destroyed beyond repair, half of his left pant leg burned off, his bright orange jacket torn to pieces (only hanging off the left shoulder), his black T-shirt that he wore underneath also ripped to shreds. There was blood dripping off the blonde's thick skull. Sasuke wiped his own mouth, and sure enough, he was bleeding as well. He glared at Naruto with an astounding amount of intensity. Ino flinched, but Naruto's smirk just widened.

"That's enough you two." Kakashi ordered. He walked out of the crater carrying a now drenched Sakura. The pink-head was shivering, not surprising given she was laying in cold water, but what shocked the group was that her clothes were also destroyed. Not as bad as her teammates, but still bad enough for her to catch a fever. Kakashi's clothes were torn as well, but nothing as bad as his students. "Sakura needs some medical attention, so I'm gonna take her to the hospital. None of you leave this spot until I come back, understand?"

The genin nodded. "Good." Kakashi said. "I'll be back soon." And he stood still. The genin looked at each other. _'What is he doing?'_ They wondered, and waited to see what would happen.

A few minutes passed, and when Naruto couldn't wait any longer asked, "Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing?"

Kakashi opened his eye in shock _'Why am I still here? Didn't I just use a body flicker?"_ He tried again, only to get the same result. _'Something's happened here. My jutsu aren't working anymore!'_ He looked to see the three genin looking at him inquiringly. "Just checking." He said, and turned to run to the hospital.

"Checking what?!" Ino yelled, but Kakashi was gone, Sakura in his arms.

"That sensei of yours is weird."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

The three of them were sitting under a tree which was miraculously still standing, waiting for Kakashi to return. It had been two hours since he left, and so far Ino had told them how she saw the red pillar, the earthquakes, and the pillar exploding. She also told them how she found them unconscious in the middle of a crater, how the Konohamaru Corps helped her drag the four of them out, how they revived Kakashi first, and how he sent the Kono. Corp to inform the Hokage of what they saw. When Ino asked their side of the story however, Sasuke had said, "It's best if we wait for Kakashi to arrive. Then we don't need to repeat ourselves." Then he sat down, saying nothing else and leaving her with only Naruto for company.

"So… what now?" Ino asked.

"I dunno." Naruto shrugged. "We just have to wait a couple hours for Kakashi-sensei to return."

"Ino did a double take. "A couple hours? You're kidding right?" She asked nervously.

"Nah. Sensei won't show for a few hours. I guarantee it."

They sat in an awkward silence. Ino wished that Sasuke would at least say something to break the ice, but the Uchiha merely sat there, not moving a muscle. Ino felt awkward because she knew that this wasn't her team, yet she felt like she fit in so comfortably with Team 7. Sure, by the looks of it, Naruto and Sasuke had a tendency to get violent pretty fast, but at least they were actively doing something. Her teammates on the other hand, just wanted to do the simplest of missions, minimal training, and eat grilled barbeque all day.

Naruto was wary of Ino. She didn't seem to be acting like her usual bossy self, and that was a fact that worried him slightly. What if she was a spy? Naruto could on any other day wipe the floor with Ino, but his body wasn't completely 100% just yet. He could move fine on his own now, but he just wouldn't able to go all out if thing turned ugly, and with an almost as bad injured Sasuke….

Naruto shook his head at the thought. Ino couldn't be a traitor. She was too jittery and nervous. Not to mention loud.

Shrugging Naruto turned to play with the strange object on his wrist. He saw it attached there when he woke up, but was too concerned with laughing at a paint-covered Ino to really give it much thought. It looked eerily similar to Kakashi's ball that he hit with Rasengan, other than the fact that it was cuffed to his wrist. It was a cerulean-blue in color, much like his eyes, and had strange navy-blue lines drawn along the side. The lines went from many edges on it's edge, all sloped upward towards where a blank ring where a watch face would be. Naruto tapped the empty ring. Nothing happened.

"So… what is it?" Ino's voice suddenly inquired next to him.

Naruto jumped. "Don't sneak up on a guy like that Ino!" He yelled.

"Hey, don't blame me for your inability to stay alert!"

"I was SO alert! I could hear you from a mile away!"

"Then why'd you jump then?"

"Because I thought the paint had a life of it's own."

"WHEN WILL YOU STOP THAT? IT'S OLD NEWS ALREADY!"

"WE AINT OLD YET, SO I'M GONNA RIDE THIS JOKE TO THE TOP!"

"IT WAS A LUCKY SHOT!"

"THAT AN ACADEMY STUDENT LANDED!"

"AND HE'S GONNA PAY FOR IT!"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!"

They froze. They turned to face a now-frustrated Sasuke, who looked none too happy about his nap being interrupted. "You're both annoying the hell out of me! So just shut up already!"

Ino looked like she had just been hit by a ton of bricks, while Naruto had a triumphant look on his face. "HA! I just got Sasuke Uchiha to scream! Now Kiba owes me 300 ryo!" He announced.

Sasuke's eye twitched. "You bet on whether or not you could make me scream." He asked calmly, but you could fell the anger radiating from his body.

"Yep." Naruto's grin widened when he saw Sasuke shake with anger. Ino knew that these two might come to blows pretty soon, and given what happened last time…she knew she had to stop them. "Guys," She said. "I don't think that Kakashi-sensei would want you two to fight agai-"

"That's a great idea Ino." Sasuke said, standing up. "I'm gonna kick your-"

"That's what you said last time," Naruto interrupted, getting up as well. "And look how that turned out."

"Guys, please-" Ino pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears. Sasuke assumed his fighting stance. "Get ready for the beat down of a lifetime." He declared.

Naruto cracked his knuckles, before assuming his own fight stance. "Bring it bastard."

"I thought I made it clear not to fight again." A new voice interrupted.

They all turned to the source, and Ino sighed with relief. Kakashi had just returned. He gave her one of his eye-smiles. "You ok Ino, they didn't do anything stupid did they?" He asked.

"No Kakashi-sensei, everything's ok now." She knew this was a fact, the boys wouldn't initiate a fight like the last one with Kakashi around. True to her prediction, they dropped their stances, in the process however, Kakashi caught sight of Naruto's left wrist. His eye widened. "Naruto," He shakily pointed a finger at said blonde's wrist. "Where did you get that?"

Naruto looked confused. "This?" He asked. "I woke up with it there. Weird huh?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Only you would wake up with a strange object cuffed to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"This is bad." Kakashi spoke. "I should have put it away."

"Huh?" The three genin asked confused. Just what was Kakashi mumbling about? "Sensei…?" Naruto asked softly.

"This might have something to do with the crisis we're facing now" Kakashi said, almost as if to himself. Sadly for him, three genin were close by listening to his every word with worry.

Ino was seriously worried now. "Crisis…"

"The situation in the village." Kakashi spoke, looking at the three of them now. "When you hit that sphere I was holding with Rasengan, it must've activated using your energy, and now there isn't a single Leaf-nin that can access their chakra."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.**

"What do you mean we can't use chakra?!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi was just joking, right? There's no way that shinobi could fight without their chakra right? But the look on Kakashi's face (or what he could see of), said otherwise.

"This isn't a joking matter, Naruto." He said. "It's something I saw at the hospital when I dropped off Sakura."

At this, Ino dropped out of her shock. "Is Sakura okay?" She asked.

"She'll be fine." Kakashi said. "They're just going to take a longer time healing her now that they have no chakra." Kakashi pressed two of his fingers against the headband that hid his, probably, now useless Sharingan. "When I got there, one of the medics nearby said she only had a few scrapes, but she has a serious bruise on her right forearm that could probably be a big problem for her in the future." He dropped his hand into his pouch and brought out his issue of the popular erotic novel series, Make-Out Paradise. "When he tried to cure it with medical ninjutsu though, nothing happened. It's as if his chakra didn't want to respond."

"Are you serious?" Naruto asked, shocked at the idea of ninja losing the ability to wield chakra. How could they possibly be ninja then?

Kakashi nodded. "Several ninja I ran into across the village said the same thing was happening to them. This lead to the only possible conclusion being that ninja are losing the ability to wield chakra."

"That's impossible." Sasuke denied vehemently. He could feel his dream slipping from his grasp with every word Kakashi spoke. He started weaving handsigns. "We can still use it. We can still use chakra." He brought his hand to his mouth. _'Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!'_ He blew, but nothing came out. "No. No. No. No. No." He protested, weaving handsigns again. "It's there. We just have to find it."

"Sasuke…" Ino whispered. It hurt her to see her crush acting like this. He kept trying to blow a fireball from his mouth, but nothing happened. He tried again and again and again, yet still met no result every time. She looked down at her hands, and brought them into her family's seal, eyes burning with determination. _'There's no way we lost the ability to wield chakra! That isn't possible! I'm gonna prove Kakashi-sensei wrong once and for all!'_ She aimed at the obviously distraught Uchiha. _'I'm sorry Sasuke. Mind-Transfer Jutsu!'_ However nothing happened. Shocked, Ino tried again, and met the same result. And the pattern continued, whenever she tried to launch her jutsu, she only got no result in return. _'Why is this happening?'_ She thought panicking slightly. _'What did we do wrong? We don't deserve this!'_ She felt tears well up in her eyes. Everything she had done in life so far, was with the intention of becoming one of the greatest kunoichi that her clan has ever seen. _'Nobody deserves this!'_ She let the tears flow.

Naruto was about to attempt the Rasengan to prove his crazy sensei wrong. There was no way that people were losing the ability to wield chakra. He must've been imagining things, right? Before he could try though, h heard a soft whimper coming from Ino. When he looked at the girl, even though she was covered in paint, he was positive that tears were streaming from her cheeks. Panicking, Naruto ran over to her and pulled her into his arms. He felt her stiffen beneath him. "It's ok Ino." He said softly. "It's ok to cry." And she let the flood gates flow, she cried into what was left of his jacket, smudging it with paint, but Naruto couldn't bring himself to care. The jacket was completely destroyed, and the girl was obviously upset about the chakra disappearance from the Leaf. He merely rubbed her back gently, hoping to calm her down some.

Sasuke on the other hand, was constantly attempting to shoot fireballs from his mouth. _'I can't lose my chakra! How will I achieve my dream then?'_ He tried again. No fireball. He shook his head violently, refusing to believe what Kakashi just said. He has chakra. He knows it. He feels it. He ran through another set of handsigns. This time, he tried to perform Chidori. Still nothing. Sasuke punched a tree in frustration. He felt his knuckles split and blood was flowing down a tree. His vision became slightly blurred, and Sasuke realized with shock that he was about to cry. He hurriedly wiped his eyes and attempted the Chidori once more. No result so he tried again. Still nothing so he tried again. With every fail he tried again. He didn't notice how Naruto was looking at him with pity. He didn't notice how Ino was crying into his teammate's shoulder. He didn't notice Kakashi shaking his head with disappointment. He didn't notice any of these things. All he wanted was the chakra for his revenge.

None of them noticed how Sasuke was slowly losing his mind. None of them would notice how the mood in the village became somber. None of them noticed the sun suddenly flash blue for a moment. And none of them would notice the brace on Naruto's left wrist glow blue for a moment.

While training ground 7 was quiet, apart from the sounds of Ino crying and Sasuke's failed attempts. The Hokage Tower was complete chaos. Shinobi from all around the village were at the tower's entrance, trying to push their way past the Anbu stationed outside. They wanted to know why they couldn't use their chakra anymore. The Anbu had similar thoughts, but they swore an oath to always protect their Hokage, no matter what the circumstances. However, they were curious as well as to why chakra seemed inaccessible to ninja all of a sudden.

The same thoughts were going through the head of the 5th Hokage, Tsunade Senju, as she watched the scene unfold from her office. The busty blonde was going through her paperwork when she saw the red pillar grow and felt the ground shake. Many of her attendants were inside when the earthquake struck, so many of them were injured by falling bookcases, walls and collapsing tables when they hid underneath them. She herself was not spared. A portrait of one of the past Hokages, fell of the wall and hit her across the head. She clasped onto her head in pain. She could feel blood staining her fingers, so in order to prevent further injury, she slid down a wall and laid against it. Once the dust had settled, she called out to anyone who might still be conscious. "I'm ok!" The voice of her personal aide, Shizune, rang out. Several other voices followed, and Tsunade sighed in relief. As long as her citizens were ok, she didn't care about anything else. Except perhaps some sake, or her debts that she so desperately tries to avoid.

The blood was still rolling down her forehead, and she felt the shadows of her former fear grasping at her, so she applied some medical ninjutsu to help stop the bleeding.

She was surprised when it failed.

Thinking it to be a result of a slight concussion, she tried again, only to meet the same result.

Worry flashing through her face, she tried again only for nothing to happen again. "Shizune! Get in here!" She called, hoping against hope that her aide could fix this problem she seemed to have. In no time at all, Shizune stepped through the door, carrying a small first aid kit. "Yes Lady Tsunade?" She asked, seeming a little breathless. Tsunade felt worry flash through her again. Shizune had a small scrape along her left cheek, nothing to serious, but it looked like it was cause by a sharp falling object. She shook her head, this was not the time to worry about a small cut. Ironically enough, she asked: "Can you heal this cut for me? I tried myself but-" She stopped.

"Is something the matter Lady Tsunade?" Shizune inquired.

Tsunade however, was having doubts about telling her. _'Should I tell her? It's not that big a problem I'm sure.'_ She shook her head, worsening her headache. _'Maybe just in case.'_ Rubbing her temples she spoke again. "I might have a slight concussion, and I think this is why I can't-" She took a deep breath. "I can't access my chakra, so please heal this cut for me." She expected to see her aide immediately attend to the wound, instead, Shizune looked at her with worry. "What's wrong Shizune?" She asked.

"You can't use your chakra either?" Shizune said.

"Do you mean you-"

"And everyone else in the building so far." Shizune said. "Nobody here can access their chakra anymore!"

Tsunade was shocked. That was clearly something she didn't expect to hear. "What do you mean no one can access their chakra anymore?"

Shizune stepped towards Tsunade, opening the first aid kit. "It started after I tried to heal this cut." She pointed to her cheek. "When that didn't happen, I thought that I must've hit my head real hard, so I asked one of the other attendants to heal it for me." Tsunade nodded, keeping track of what Shizune was saying. "The attendant failed too, so I knew something must be horribly wrong if neither one of us can use chakra anymore. When the other attendants came to, I asked them to perform any jutsu they could. They all failed." She swabbed Tsunade's head, making her grunt in pain. "Nobody in the tower can use chakra at the moment." She placed a small bandage on the cut. "We don't know why, but this could be a major problem for the village."

"Calm down Shizune." Tsunade ordered. "For all we know, this could be a small issue plaguing only the people in this tower. The rest of the village is probably fine." She gave her attendant a comforting smile. "Everyone else might be completely fine."

Shizune let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "You're right. It must be because of that tremor. I'll send for an Anbu to get a medic from the hospital right away."

Tsunade nodded. But then, almost as if karma decided to screw with them, they heard shouting from outside. What's going on?" Shizune inquired. Tsunade shrugged, then an Anbu burst into her office. "Lady Hokage!" Her purple hair immediately notified Tsunade of her identity. "What is it Neko?"

"Outside." She panted. "There's a mob of shinobi outside. They're saying they can't use chakra!"

"WHAT!" Tsunade and her attendant screamed.

"We checked. They're claims are ringing true. No one in the village can use chakra anymore!"

Tsunade was shocked. "How is this possible? I thought it was just those in the Hokage tower!"

The Anbu, Neko, shook her head. "I can assure you Lady Tsunade, there isn't a shinobi left in our village that can use chakra right now."

"But how is this possible though?" Shizune asked. "There was no attack on our village recently. We would have seen an enemy's jutsu capable of doing this."

It clicked in Tsunade's head. "The red pillar." The other two women looked at her curiously. "That red pillar in the sky moments ago. Where did it come from?"

Shizune's eyes widened. "You don't think-"

Tsunade nodded. "That might have been the enemy's move. Without our chakra, there is slim chance we could defend ourselves properly. Whoever the enemy is, they could wipe us out in a heartbeat."

Neko stepped forward. "It looked like the pillar came from the training grounds, Lady Hokage."

"Were any teams there at the time of the explosion?"

"None that I know of Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade bit her lip. She looked down at the portrait the cut her head. The frame was broken, and the glass cracked. Looking at the picture, a horrible thought formed in her head. "Shizune. Send some Anbu to deal with the mob outside. Neko, I want you to head to training ground 7 to investigate the area. Send any survivors you find here."

Neko nodded, and ran out the door. "Training ground 7?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade nodded. "Kakashi was going to meet his team there for practice. I have a feeling they might have something to do with this."

"How can you be sure?"

"Call it instinct. Now go. Get that mob out of here."

Shizune nodded and left. Tsunade sighed. "Why do I feel like I failed you?" She said, staring at the broken picture. "Something horrible is about to happen. I can feel it." She said, looking out the window. The portrait cracked even more, this time, cutting straight through the face of the 4th Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Sasuke was exhausted. There was nothing he could do anymore. His chakra was gone, and with it, his chance to beat Itachi. "Are you done?" The monotone voice of his sensei spoke. He sighed and just plopped down next to a tree. "Took you long enough." Naruto said. Sasuke growled. Ino had long since gone home. She needed to clean the paint up after all, and she was most likely going to stay home for a while. So that just left the three of them. "Shut up. Naruto." Sasuke growled out.

"And why should I?" He asked.

"Because I'm telling you to."

"Nobody died and made you Hokage."

"That's going to change if you don't shut it."

"Bring it then."

"Enough." Kakashi spoke. "The village is in a state of emergency, and you two want to fight again? That ends now. You will not engage each other while we have this whole chakra drought going on." Naruto looked ashamed, while Sasuke just scoffed.

"Come on." Kakashi continued. "We have to get back to the village, see how bad the damage is. But first," The boys looked at him curiously. "You guys need to get cleaned up."

Naruto looked down at the remains of his jacket. He could definitely use some new clothes. "Yeah, sounds good to me."

As for Sasuke, his response. "Hn."

"Good." Kakashi eye-smiled. "Then go home and meet me at-"

"KAKASHI! WAIT!" A voice shouted. The three of them turned. "Eh?" Naruto was surprised to see an Anbu running towards them. Actually running.

"Neko? Is that you?" Kakashi was flabbergasted. Anbu running in plain sight. What exactly happened when that sphere blew?

When Neko caught up, she was panting horribly. Kakashi gave her a bottle of water that miraculously survived the explosion. She tilted her mask up to drink. "Thanks." She said.

"What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked.

"Lady Hokage sent me here." Neko said. "She thought there might be survivors here. Guess she was right."

"Grandma sent you?" Naruto asked.

Neko sweat dropped at that. "Yeah. She said to send any survivors to her immediately."

"She wants us to head to her?" Kakashi asked. Seems like he could forget about his book for now. "Then we better get moving."

"Wait!" Naruto spoke. "What about getting some ramen- I mean new clothes?" He finished with a sweet smile.

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "That will have to wait for now." That smile only meant trouble to Kakashi, and judging by the way Neko shivered, it meant trouble to her too. "Let's not keep Lady Tsunade waiting, alright."

Naruto sighed. It seems like he won't get his ramen anytime soon. "Ok. Let's go." He said boredly, while Sasuke just grunted in response. Neko and Kakashi started walking back towards the village. Naruto moved to follow, but Sasuke turned and glared at him, stopping him in his tracks. He glared back, hoping to bait Sasuke into another fight. This one he'd win for sure.

"Come on you two!" Kakashi's voice called out. Sasuke turned and followed after their sensei. Naruto sighed. He wouldn't get his match with Sasuke today, but it will come eventually. And with that thought in mind, he joined the group heading back to the village.

"You can't be serious."

"But alas, I am."

"I won't allow this."

"You have no choice in the matter."

Tsunade glared at the man sitting before her. Moments after she sent Neko to retrieve Kakashi and his team, (who were hopefully still alive if they were at the training grounds), Danzo Shimura, a veteran of the Second Great Ninja War, walked in, followed by Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, the Hokage's advisors. When asked what they wanted, Danzo merely responded by asking for the sphere Kakashi took with him. Tsunade questioned his motives, wondering to hell how he knew about the sphere, and why he wanted it. His response was that it was for the 'betterment of the village' as he put it. Naturally not trusting the man, she refused his request, arguing that it should remain untouched until Jiraiya could take a look at it. After all, if someone inexperienced got hold of it and activated it somehow, innocent people could get hurt. She thought she had the case won.

Until he pulled out a letter from the Fire Daimyo, approving his motion to hold custody of the sphere.

Which led to this, the two of them glaring at each other across the table, while the two advisors sat on a couch behind Danzo.

"That sphere was taken from a group of strange bandits and left in our custody." Tsunade continued. "We have no idea what it does. Where it's from, or how dangerous it really is. Do you really expect me to hand it over without getting it checked?"

Danzo waved her off. "Your concern is touching Tsunade, but do you really believe that I can't take care of one small ball?"

Tsunade slammed her palms on the table. "I couldn't care less what happens to you! This object could be a danger to the village, possibly the entire Elemental Nations!"

"Then do you really believe it to be safe in the hands of Kakashi Hatake?" Homura countered.

"Kakashi is a very capable shinobi." Tsunade retorted. "He's capable of hol-" She stopped suddenly. "Hang on." She narrowed her eyes. "I never mentioned anything about Kakashi holding the sphere. How do you know he has it?"

The advisors shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Danzo tightened his grip on his walking stick. "I can't believe this." Tsunade said. "You were spying on me?"

"Understand Tsunade, we have to make it our business to know what happens in our village." Koharu said.

Tsunade rubbed her temples. "You spied on me?"

"It was for the good of the Leaf." Danzo said.

Before Tsunade could respond, Shizune walked in. "Lady Tsunade, Neko returned with Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto."

Tsunade's stomach gave a horrible lurch at the sight of Danzo's victorious smirk. "Send them in." He said.

"What're you-"

"Please hurry. The Daimyo gave me express permission to claim an artifact from Kakashi Hatake." Danzo continued.

Shizune looked at her mentor for advice. Tsunade only nodded in reluctance. "Send them in."

Minutes later, Shizune came back with a very banged up Team 7. Tsunade reeled back in shock. "What happened to you? And where's Sakura?"

"Didn't Kono tell you?" Naruto asked confusedly.

"Konohamaru wasn't allowed to see the Hokage, so I sent him and his friends to help the villagers." Shizune said. Naruto nodded, then his eyes took in the sight of the officials in the room. "Why are all these old people here?"

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched, Danzo and the other elders bristled, Shizune blushed in embarrassment, and Kakashi and Sasuke face palmed. Naruto looked at them in confusion. "What?"

"Just be quiet Naruto. Please just stay quiet." Kakashi said. Naruto shrugged and turned his attention to Tsunade. "Why'd you call for us Grandma?"

Tsunade face palmed. Barely restraining her anger, she spoke, "Didn't you're sensei just ask you to be quiet?"

"Yeah, so?" Naruto asked, not getting it. Sasuke shook his head in the background, staying as silent as possible. The last thing he needs is to be on the elder's bad side.

"Then you should stay quiet brat." Tsunade said.

"Why?"

"It's an order."

"That makes no sense."

"Obey it anyway. Do you think your sensei would ignore a request from his students?"

"I'm still waiting for him to be on time for practice."

"Enough of this." Danzo spoke. "Do you have the artifact?" He spoke to Kakashi.

"Artifact?" Sasuke asked before he could stop himself.

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "I was told to keep it in my possession until Master Jiraiya returned."

"You have new orders now." Koharu said. "The artifact is to be transferred to Danzo's possession for analysis."

"Are you serious?!" Kakashi asked shocked. He looked to Tsunade for confirmation. She nodded.

"What artifact are you talking about sensei?" Naruto asked. Sasuke was also curious, but didn't voice his opinions. He stayed quiet, hoping to gather some information.

Kakashi ignored the boy's question. He looked at Danzo, who held his hand out for him to place the artifact in. "Well, you see… the thing is…" Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "I kinda…"

"You what?" Homura asked.

"I lost it."

The silence was deafening. You could have heard a pin drop, at least until the outburst.

"YOU WHAT!"

Kakashi shrunk back under the scrutinizing gaze of his Hokage. "Explain." Tsunade said. "Now."

So Kakashi told her the whole story. Arriving at training ground 7, finding it in ruins, Naruto and Sasuke fighting, Naruto's Rasengan hitting the sphere, the explosion, waking up to find Ino dragging him from a crater, taking and injured Sakura to the hospital, the chakra drought, and making the trip here. Everyone sat in silence after that, processing the information. It remained quiet until Danzo spoke. "And the sphere?"

"No idea what happened to it." Kakashi said. He felt like this was the end of the line, he was supposed to keep it safe, and he might have gotten it destroyed. He shook his head. No use beating himself up about it now.

"What did it look like sensei?" Sasuke asked.

"What was that Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"What did the sphere look like?"

"Why so interested?"

"Just humor me sensei." Sasuke said. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew where the sphere was, he just needed to confirm his suspicions.

Kakashi sighed. _'Might as well humor the kid.'_ He thought. He was gonna need a vacation after this. "It was a small blue sphere, could fit in your hand, and had much lighter blue markings covering the entire thing."

Sasuke nodded. "Kind of like that?" He asked, pointing at the cuff attached to Naruto's wrist. Everyone turned. Kakashi's eye widened again. "Yeah. Almost exactly like that. The only difference is the markings are darker."

"How do you have that Naruto?" Tsunade asked. Everyone turned to face the blonde.

Naruto shifted under everyone's gaze. "I don't know. I just remember waking up with it on." He admitted.

Shizune gently took Naruto's arm. She fiddled with the cuff, trying to pull it off. Naruto winced. "Sorry Naruto." Shizune said, resuming her attempts to remove the cuff. However nothing she tried worked. "It doesn't come off. What is it?"

"This is ridiculous." Koharu said. She waved her hand, and an Anbu with a blank mask walked in. "Remove that artifact from Uzumaki's wrist if you please." The Anbu nodded and grabbed Naruto's arm forcefully.

"Hey! What are you doing? Let go!" Naruto tried to pull his arm from the Anbu, but his grip was too tight. Kakashi tried to help his student, but he was restrained by two more nameless Anbu. "What are you doing? Stop this!" Tsunade demanded, but to no avail. Sasuke tried to aid his teammate, but was quickly restrained by another nameless Anbu.

"This new artifact must be studied, remove it at once." Danzo spoke. The Anbu holding Naruto drew a kunai. Panicking, Naruto tried to draw on his chakra to form a Rasengan in his free hand, even though he knew it wouldn't work. The cuff on his arm vibrated slightly, and to his surprise, a Rasengan was formed in his right palm. Not thinking much about it, he drove the jutsu into the chest of the Anbu holding him, releasing his grip and sending him flying back into a wall.

Everyone in the room froze. They had all just witnessed it happen, but refused to believe it. "Naruto…" Shizune spoke. "You can still use chakra…"

Naruto was panting horribly. That was the first time he made a perfect Rasengan with only one hand. "Yeah." He said. "I guess I can."

Sasuke was seething. _'Him. Why him? Why the dead last?'_ Of all the people in the village to use chakra, why was Naruto the only one who could still use his? Tsunade was gaping. A village-wide crisis, and Naruto the only one unaffected? This does not bode well. Kakashi stopped struggling against his aggressors, instead choosing to gape at his blonde student.

Danzo was the first to recover and take advantage of the situation. "It's clear what happened here." Everyone looked at him in confusion. "When Uzumaki hit the sphere, he somehow activated it. It in turn transformed into the cuff and attached itself to his wrist."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "You don't mean-"

"Yes." Danzo nodded. "Naruto Uzumaki, by activating the sphere, you not only caused the explosion that endangered the village, you also created this chakra drought that the citizens are suffering from."

Naruto was shocked. "No…"

"Yes." Danzo nodded again. "You caused the chakra drought and the red pillar explosion. For this you be placed in an Anbu holding facility until the time comes for you to be tried before the villagers."

Naruto knew what his fate was as soon as he heard the villagers would be the jury at his trial. They'd sentence him to death. He couldn't let that happen. "No." He shook his head.

Danzo narrowed his visible eye. "No?"

"No." Naruto repeated more firmly. There was only one option for him now. "I'm not gonna die anytime soon." He reached into his back pocket and grasped the small object there.

"If you refuse," Homura spoke, "This could very well count as an act of treason. You'll become an enemy to the Land of Fire."

Sasuke's eyes widened, but he couldn't find the words to convince his teammate to stop. Tsunade, however, had no such qualms. "Naruto, just come quietly, we'll figure something out. I promise you'll have a fair trial."

"We both know that won't happen Grandma." Naruto said sadly. "I'm sorry." He brought his arm forward.

"SEIZE HIM!" Danzo shouted. The three Anbu in the room leapt after him, but the smoke collided with the ground before they got there. For a few seconds, nobody could see or smell a thing. Kakashi realized this smoke bomb was more potent than the regular ones. He coughed, trying to get the smoke out of his system. Eventually, the smoke cleared, and Naruto was nowhere to be seen. The door remained closed, but the window behind the desk was broken. Shizune and Tsunade were lying unconscious on the ground. "Find him." Danzo growled. "Notify the Anbu. Spread out and search the area, he couldn't have gotten far."

"Are you sure about this Danzo?" A deathly pale Koharu questioned.

"Yes, I'm sure." Danzo gazed out the broken window. "Tell Ibiki to have the village on lockdown. Naruto Uzumaki is a fugitive of the Leaf, and nobody is getting in or out of this village until he is caught."


End file.
